My name is Shea and I am an airline pilot for JSX.

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I was born and raised in a small town in the Philippines about 5 hours north of Manila. I grew up in an era with no video games where I was required to play outside with my friends. When playing outside I often found myself pausing to look up in the sky, then waving to an airplane some 40,000 feet above me, hoping that the pilots could see me. At an early age I was mesmerized by airplanes, wondering how airplanes could fly and what mystical oasis the jetsetters were off too. I loved seeing the contrails magically get scribbled in the sky, having no idea at the time what was causing them to occur.

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I really didn’t know what I wanted to be when I was growing up. As the second child that was supposed to be a boy, I was often given boy toys for my birthday and holidays, including toy airplanes. Every time we went to the big city to take my mom to the airport I would get really excited knowing I’d be able to see different kinds of airplanes. At a very young age I thought airplanes were the most beautiful thing man had created. I would see the flight crew arrive and I was thrilled to see them in-person, almost like they were mythical.

 

In my younger years back home in the Philippines I don’t recall ever seeing a female pilot. I recall telling my grandfather, the man who raised me, that I wanted to be a pilot one day. He rejected the idea saying, “It’s a tough job and it’s only a man’s job.” My family would often tell me that I would be the girl selling tomatoes at the local market (this is what the poorest of women do). I dismissed the thought of being a pilot but I still want to be involved in aviation. I later looked into being a flight attendant for Philippines Airlines and found they were extremely discriminatory, weeding out candidates for completion, skin clarity, and for being married or having children. 

 

Coming to America in my 20’s I still had an untamed passion for aviation. The closest I had been able get to aviation in the Philippines as a female was to attend a Filipino college and get a Bachelor of Science in Tourism. I hoped that I could apply my knowledge to my career but often found myself limited by gender. Once I was in America though I found far less discrimination and I excitedly started a career with Southwest Airlines as a Customer Service Agent in Baltimore, MD. It was then that I finally saw female pilots and found out that I too could be a pilot. I was super excited now realizing that the land of opportunity truly could allow for all of ones dreams to come true. I found out how much training would cost and my dreams were temporarily dashed as I couldn’t afford it on my own. Financial hurtles merely inspired me to work harder and figure out a plan to achieve my dreams. After a year of working as a customer service agent I applied and was promoted to a Southwest Airlines flight attendant.

 

I met my husband, also a flight attendant, at Southwest Airlines and he has been incredibly supportive of my journey to becoming a pilot. He helped us create a solid plan for me to follow my life dream, which all started by proudly becoming an American citizen. My husband is a private pilot with instrument rating and he understands the struggles of balancing work, studies and life. My husband continues to work double his scheduled shifts, sometimes having only 2 days off a month to support me and my dream of being a commercial airline pilot. He works so hard so we could pay for my flight training and to compensate for my low pay as a junior pilot with a small airline. I still occasionally work as a flight attendant when I'm not a pilot for JSX. I pack my food on my trips to save money.

 

I try to be a role model to my fellow flight attendants and ground crews, encouraging them to further their careers and follow their passion. I’ve been able to share my piloting passion with many people and several coworkers are now also taking their first steps toward being a pilot. I’ve been encouraging young ladies to break through the glass ceiling and to follow their dreams. I finished my commercial rating in February 2019, my CFI & CFII in August 2020 and my MEI in October 2020. I started my piloting career with Cape Air flying the C402 & Tecnam 2012. I am currently a First Officer with JSX based in Oakland, CA flying the ERJ 135 & ERJ 145. I will take this journey all the way through attaining my ATP, with the goal of being one of the first female Filipino-American pilots at Southwest Airlines.